I have my Adventure Island on order. When it arrives, I will be sailing it in UK winter conditions.
I am in the process of getting geared-up and wondered if anybody had any opinions about cold weather gear, especially drysuits.
Regards,
Ger.

Let me start by saying that the dry suit is your best solution for cold weather sailing. We were just out on the Chesapeake Bay yesterday, and the dry suits sure came in handy.

I have a Gul, and my buddy has a Gill. The other major brand out there is Kokatat. While my Gul hasn't given me any reason to be disappointed, it doesn't carry the warranty that the Gill or that Kokatat does. I chose the Gul Infra mainly based on price. Got a screaming deal on a display unit on the last day of a boat show. Paid about 1/3 of what the Kokatat I was looking at sells for. Never having used one before, and having only just gotten into kayaking, I figured lower price would mean that I'd be less upset if the cold weather sailing turned out to not be as much fun as I expected. Having now been out several times in cold conditions, it's worth the effort & investment. Winter brings some awesome winds! We were out for several hours yesterday, with no extra equipment, other than the dry suit. Just had jeans & a t-shirt underneath. Finally came in when our feet got cold. Could've stayed out longer if we'd donned more than cotton socks as insulation.

IMHO the dry suit is worth getting. Which one will depend on how much you want to spend. When replacement is necessary, I'll be looking at the Kokatat GoreTex, but that's just me. If taken care of, most people report that their dry suits last for a good long time.

As said before, join Anglers afloat, even if you`re not fishing, there is a helpfull bunch with a lot of expertise in everything with SOT yaks involved, especially useful for the harsh conditions you`re going to launch in.

Donjoe,
Thanks for your advice. I think I will go for the drysuit offered as part of a special deal with the Adventure Island, the pfd, roof rack etc. It is a crewsaver, and it's a name I recognise. It is not top of the range, but let's see if it does the job.

PF,
I have now joined Anglers afloat as you suggested.
It looks like all the info I'll ever need is in here somewhere.

Hi Guy-I intend to go cold weather sailing soon out of Cedar Beach N.Y. I just bought a "cold water immersion suit" made by "Mustang Survival Gear".I paid $625 with shipping from "Navigation Landfall" This suit is coast guard approved and comes with harness to hook yourself up to the boat.

_________________New to PCs and this forum stuff. Had an original Outback and Classic. sold them both for the A.I.. Love the boat and especially this site... (if I can figure out how to use it)

I spoke with one of my suppliers for our officers. He is with Landfall Navigation. They have drysuit sales on and off. I'm looking at maybe getting the Henri Lloyd one. Anyone have any experience with that brand?
The drysuit has one of those more comfortable neoprene adjustable collars instead of the latex throat cutter and it's only $449 retail.

I'll stick with the latex collar on my Kokatat full drysuit (which includes feet).

Why?

1) You can stretch the latex out considerably by putting it around a pan four inches larger than your neck overnight. Eventually the "throat cutter" will stretch a bit more and comfortably fit . Don't go by what it feels like trying it on in the shop.

2) I want a water tight seal at my throat. Adjustable neoprene is dandy for sitting atop the AI, but what if you're overboard in rough water? You can actually dive 10 or 12 feet with a latex collar.

Happy Trails!!

Chris

>I spoke with one of my suppliers for our officers. He is with Landfall Navigation. They have drysuit sales on and off. I'm looking at maybe getting the Henri Lloyd one. Anyone have any experience with that brand?
The drysuit has one of those more comfortable neoprene adjustable collars instead of the latex throat cutter and it's only $449 retail.